


You're Behind My Eyelids When I'm All Alone

by xslytherclawx



Series: Cat Café Universe [15]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Jewish Character, Katsuki Yuuri and Victor Nikiforov are Yuri Plisetsky's Parents, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Yuri goes to Hot Topic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-28 15:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11421000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: “Oh I'd confess, I'd confess in a room where I'm blessed.But he didn't come and speak to me,Or put my heart at ease.And I believe that half the timeI am a wolf among the sheepGnawing at the wool over my eyes.”(Panic! at the Disco, "Hurricane")(Yuri's point of view of Skate America 2017. Canon compliant as of publication date)





	1. Are you worth your weight in gold?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skate America, 2017](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385777) by [xslytherclawx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx). 



> Title from Panic! at the Disco's song "Hurricane", which we put in Yuri's routine for this season.  
> This work needs to be viewed with the creator's skin **on**! Otherwise the texts will look a little funky!  
>  This is technically, I guess, a remix of "Skate America 2017", but you don't need to read that to understand this. I'd recommend reading both to get both sides of the story, though, but order doesn't particularly matter.

Yuri Plisetsky had never, really, been more nervous before a competition.

When he’d found out that he and Otabek were both assigned to Skate America, he’d been ecstatic. He’d get to see his best friend before the GPF, and they’d probably get time to actually hang out.

But that had been before the Rostelecom Cup. Before Victor had so oh-so-helpfully pointed out (word-for-word, even) that Otabek’s theme — officially called “friendship” — was really “I love Yuri Plisetsky.” He even wore a fucking costume for his free skate inspired by that damn Ashkenazi painter from _Le Chat du rabbin_. And his exhibition was to a song by _Frank Iero,_ of all people.  [1]

He’d kept up contact with Otabek, of course, and he’d thrown himself into practise, but something was _different_ now.

It wasn’t just that he’d finally realised just how _attractive_ Otabek was, how warm his dark brown eyes were, how full and soft his lips looked, or how muscular he was. It wasn’t just because he wondered how soft Beka’s hair really was, because it looked _very_ soft.

It wasn’t just that Otabek’s voice made his heart race, or that he swore that his heart skipped a beat every time he made Otabek laugh. It wasn’t the way he felt strangely warm when they Skype called and Beka’s hair was a mess and he was wearing an old t-shirt.

And Yuri was sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that Beka’s family _knew him_ , before he’d ever even visited Almaty.

But the fact of the matter was, as Yuri boarded his plane in St. Petersburg on November 21st, he knew he’d be going to see his best friend who he’d somehow fallen in love with.

Maybe “somehow” was a stretch. Because Beka was kind and thoughtful and supportive, and he never told Yuri to calm down or act like an adult. Beka accepted him for who he was. _Loved_ him for who he was.

And maybe he’d noticed, when he’d found out that Otabek was Jewish, too, that this was yet another tie binding the two of them together, and, really, what were the chances? But he hadn’t realised, at that point, and he certainly wouldn’t have been able to admit it to himself.

Only now he had.

But he wasn’t convinced that he was going to make a move.

Sure, Victor and Katsuki were _convinced_ that Otabek was in love with him. But they were annoying and old and they saw true love everywhere. And Yuri was not about to ruin the best friendship he’d ever had (and the only truly equal friendship he’d ever had) just because he’d gone and developed _feelings_. No; he’d handle this like an adult.

Beka asked to compare flights a week before the competition. They didn’t have any layovers together, which was hardly surprising, and they were flying into totally different airports, six hours apart from each other.

But it was fine.

* * *

He’d ended up stuck between Yakov and Lilia, which was a goddamn nightmare, and neither of them had the decency to allow him alcohol to deal with it. At least, he’d heard the older skaters claim to use alcohol to cope with annoying situations. Yuri had never really tried it himself, but he didn’t think anything could be worse than being stuck between Yakov and Lilia for over fifteen hours, in total.

He wasn’t allowed to get any of the high class, rich food on the flight, which he understood on a base level, but his salad had come out all wilted and he eyed Yakov’s plate with barely disguised envy.

Then, when they had to go through customs in Washington, D.C., they had to collect all of their bags, too, and re-check them in, and they almost missed their second flight, which would have been an absolute fucking nightmare.

What was worse, when he checked his phone in D.C., he hadn’t gotten a new text from Beka. Huh. Maybe he was reading, or something, Yuri forced down his annoyance. After all, Otabek was probably more exhausted than he was. He’d said his flight was supposed to leave early in the morning.

He was off the flight in Vermont, bags collected, and in the rental car when Beka finally texted him.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Beka:** How was your flight?  
  


Yuri felt his heart pound in his chest, and he scrambled to reply to his best friend in the whole world.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Yura:** fucking awful, as always. stuck between lilia and yakov the whole time.   
  
**Beka:** At least you’ll be here soon.  
  


“Hey, Lilia!” Yuri called. “How long until we’re at the hotel?”

“According to the GPS, we still have nearly two hours. You can take a nap if you want.”

Fat chance of that. Yuri knew it was technically late enough to sleep without being too jet-lagged, but he wasn’t going to risk it. He texted Beka back.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Yura:** gps says almost two hours left   
  
**Beka:** I’m not going out tonight, so you can come to my room when you get in if you want to vent.  
  
**Yura:** beka youre an angel.   
  
**Beka:** I try.  
  
**Beka:** Oh and don’t let me forget to tell you about my afternoon.   
  


His afternoon? Had Otabek done something? Yuri felt a pang of jealousy before he remembered that his best friend had likely wandered around town on his own, and had probably just found, like, a weird toad or fish or something. But then… there was always the real risk of there being a real adventure that he’d missed out on.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Yura:** i wont. looking forward to it.  
  
**Yura:** you always seem to have crazy ass adventures when im not there   
  
**Beka:** Excuse me, do we not have adventures together?  
  
**Yura:** we do but the ones when im not there always seem crazier   
  
**Beka:** Yura. The first time we met, I picked you up on my motorcycle and you didn’t even remember who I was.  
  
**Yura:** and thats one of your less wild adventures   
  
**Beka:** Not my fault you spend most of your free nights eating take out with your cat   
  


Beka knew him too well. Yuri pouted. Pyotya was much better company than anyone else in that apartment, and for that matter, Victor and Katsuki almost always cooked dinner, and, loath as he was to admit it, they were both good cooks, and always made delicious food.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Yura:** beka how dare you  ill have you know i spend most nights eating home cooked meals from the two old men and avoiding their pda  
  
**Beka:** Is it PDA though if it’s their apartment?  
  
**Yura:** honestly beka its like youre on their side    
  
**Beka:** I’m not saying it’s not gross. I’m saying it’s not PDA since it’s not in public.  
  
**Yura:** fine, fine. but they’re still fucking disgusting.   
  
**Beka:** That’s fair  
  
**Beka:** I’m gonna get a shower, but please don’t kill anyone on your drive over. I don’t think they’ll let you compete if you get arrested.  
  
**Yura:** no promises  
  


He pocketed his phone and tried _desperately_ to avoid imagining Otabek in the shower. Otabek was his _best friend_ , and Yuri’s traitorous feelings aside, it wasn’t good to think of your best friend like that. Especially not when he was in a car with Yakov and Lilia and not alone in his bedroom at home.

He missed Pyotya, but the stupid fucking hotel had a policy against pets. Like they didn’t know who he was. So he texted the two old men.

**Messages with** Victor  & Katsuki  
  
**Yurio:** safe in the USA. in the car with yakov and lilia now.   
Victor  
Good luck! Get some sleep when you get to the hotel!  
Katsuki  
[](http://www.elviasragdollbabz.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/webassets/.pond/SealPointRagdoll76.JPG.w300h200.jpg)  
She misses you!  
**Yurio:** it’s like fucking 2am there what the fuck   
Katsuki  
Good luck, Yurio!  
Victor  
Remember, if you sleep with Otabek, use condoms and lube!  
I stuck some in your bag! Thank me later!  


Yuri locked his phone in abject horror. How fucking dare those old men?

No matter what his… _feelings_ about Otabek actually _were_ , it wasn’t like he’d be stupid enough to have his first time right before (or during) a fucking competition.

Yuri rested his head against the window of the car, and before he knew it, Yakov was waking him up, telling him they’d arrived at the hotel.

Yuri waved him off, and told Yakov to check him in and put his bags in his room. He found his way to Otabek’s room and knocked on the door. When Otabek didn’t answer, he knocked again. Surely he wasn’t asleep?

He kept knocking, and after a few minutes, he called, “I know you’re in there, asshole!”

Otabek answered the door a few seconds later with one eyebrow cocked. He was wearing pyjamas – or what passed as pyjamas for him, namely an old t-shirt, which advertised something in Kazakh, and sweatpants. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

What was worse: Yuri immediately noticed how he _smelled_.

So he did what any rational guy would do: he hugged him. And then he let go, because _holy shit what was he doing_?

“I’m _starving_.” And he was. The airplane food had been terrible. “Let’s get room service and catch up.”

He didn’t look at Otabek’s face; instead, he barged into the room. He noticed a book on Otabek’s bed. _Petersburg_.  [2] Gross; he’d hated that book. “Ugh, I had to read that book for my lessons,” he said.

“You didn’t like it?” Beka asked.

Yuri shook his head. “It was boring.”

He chanced a glance at Otabek’s face; it was clear he disagreed. “Yura, it’s about the 1905 Revolution. It’s widely regarded as one of the best books of the twentieth century.”

“There’s not enough action,” Yuri said, flopping down onto the bed.

Otabek didn’t reply, but he did get the room service menu and handed it to Yuri. “Here,” he said. “And then we’ll talk about our days.”

Yuri knew he needed to eat well, but surely there was nothing wrong with some fish or something more substantial than a salad. Sure enough, the hotel had salmon. Wonderful.

He handed the menu back to Beka. “You want anything?”

Otabek shook his head. “I’m fine. I ate around six.”

“Suit yourself,” Yuri said. He grabbed the room’s phone and called the number listed on the menu, and ordered salmon as well as a caesar salad. He made sure to indicate that even though the food was to be brought to Beka’s room, it was to be billed to his own. Once he was finished, he put down the phone and turned to Beka.

“So, get this. I had two fucking connections. Two. And one was in Washington, so we all had to go through customs _there_ , so we almost missed our fucking flight to Vermont. And the whole time Yakov and Lilia are doing their… gross thing that they do. And I’m stuck between them and cursing this fucking hotel for not being pet-friendly, because Pyotya would do a lot to improve my mood, you know? And the fucking _food_ . I’m in first class, and Lilia tells me I can’t drink any of the alcohol _or_ eat any of the _good_ food. The salad was all wilted.”

Otabek shot him a look, which, Yuri, fortunately caught.

He knew what that look meant, and thought back on his words. “Holy shit, I’m starting to sound like Victor, aren’t I?”

“You were fine until you complained about the salad being wilted.”

Yuri groaned and pulled Otabek’s pillow over his head. Being like Victor was the last fucking thing he wanted. How had that old man impacted him? “Fuck. Okay, you know what, how was your day? What kind of adventures did you get into?”

“A few weeks ago, I got a text from JJ asking if I wanted to hang out. He’s back with his parents in Montréal.”

Holy fucking shit. Yuri knew that Otabek and JJ had once been rink mates, but he didn’t think that they were _friends_ , or anything of the sort. But, still, why else would he mention it? “Oh my god, Beka, you didn’t.”

“I shouldn’t have told him that I was flying into Montréal.”

Yuri doubled over in laughter. “Beka, _please_ tell me you didn’t spend all day with that asshole.” He could picture it now. JJ never shut the hell up, and Beka was much too nice to tell him to shut the fuck up.

“He’d made lunch reservations, Yura. I couldn’t just… not go.”

This was his best friend. Of fucking course it was. How had Yuri ever thought he was some cool badass? Otabek was still cool, of course, but… “Fucking hell, Beka, you’re too nice.” Yuri managed to eventually compose himself, and wiped away a tear.

“He and Isabella took me to lunch, and then drove me down here.”

“That can’t be it, though.” If they’d gone through all that… and he couldn’t picture JJ just being content with that. JJ was the most annoying person on the face of the earth.

Beka hesitated for a second before continuing. “Chulanont was in the lobby. We all ended up wandering around town. I think I heard the same five stories from JJ ten times.”

“Christ, okay, fuck, Beka, your day was worse.” He’d thought his flight had been bad, but at least JJ wasn’t on it.

“It wasn’t terrible,” Otabek said. “But prolonged exposure to JJ can be tough.”

“How much of an ass was he?”

“Besides dragging me to lunch… he was perfectly nice.”

Yuri didn’t buy it. JJ was always an ass. “You’re fucking kidding me, Altin.”

“Yura, seriously,” Beka said, looking Yuri in the eyes. “I think… I think I may be the only person JJ considers a friend who doesn’t actively _hate_ him.”

“What the fuck.”

Otabek nodded.

“Okay, tell you what. If he asks you to be his best man, because that asshole will get married eventually, you need to take me with you.” But then, since JJ was not getting gold this season, or so it seemed, who knew how long that would take – maybe… but he wasn’t going to think about potentially dating his best friend while he was on said best friend’s bed _with him_.

“Of course.”

“Shit, fuck, Beka. I still can’t believe fucking JJ Leroy thinks you’re best friends. You’re too fucking nice.” Yuri dissolved into laughter again. He’d missed this. Skype calls were nice, but they weren’t the same as being in the same physical location.

* * *

He was in third place after the short program. Normally, he’d be pissed, especially since Chulanont had a lead over him, but… watching Beka’s performance in person… it was _moving_. Yuri knew that it was for him.

So when Otabek asked him if he wanted to go to a mall, Yuri enthusiastically accepted. They went down to the lobby together, while Otabek looked up how to rent a car on his phone.

“Shit,” Beka said.

“What?”

“Apparently in the US, you need to be twenty-one to rent a car.”[3]

Yuri scoffed. How in the world did that make any sense? “That’s bullshit. Just lie. You could pass for twenty-one.”

“Did I hear you two kids need an adult?”

Otabek and Yuri turned around to find Phichit Chulanont.

“It just so happens, I’d already rented a car for the week. Lake Placid’s okay, but it’s been a while since I’ve been to the US, and I wanted to get the most Instagram-worthy shots. I can take you two where you need to go.”

A glance at Otabek revealed that Phichit’s pretences were clear even to him. Victor and Katsuki had asked the Thai skater to keep an eye on them. It was insulting. They weren’t _children_!

“We wanted to go to the mall,” Otabek said, the traitor.

Phichit whipped out his phone. “Burlington, Montréal, or Albany?”

“I don’t know if we could get into Montréal and back with our visas.”

Phichit frowned. “Okay. Well, let’s go to Albany, then. It looks like it’s on a highway, and besides, it’ll probably be less boring than Burlington.”

“Stupid fucking interlopers,” Yuri muttered. “I’ll show Victor and Katsuki what I think of this when I get back home.”

Still, he followed Otabek and Phichit to the car Phichit had rented. He made sure to sit in the back with Otabek, because like hell he was going to sit in the passenger seat next to Phichit.

* * *

They got to the mall in two hours, and Yuri spent the whole time talking to Otabek and purposefully ignoring Phichit. Yuri made sure to mention that there was a store that he wanted to go to, and once they were out of the car, he led the way to said store. Well, he led his way to the directory to find the store, telling Otabek along the way that they should be speaking Russian to throw Phichit off, because Victor and Katsuki had _definitely_ sent him to tail them.

Otabek pointed out that Phichit could easily call Victor to translate, but that didn’t matter. Otabek pointed out the store on the directory. “There.”

Yuri grinned. “Great! Let’s go before Chulanont realises we’re gone!”

He dragged Otabek by the sleeve of his jacket, and didn’t let go until they were inside the store. His Mecca. The store was dark, and a Fall Out Boy song blared from the speakers. He would have hummed along if Otabek weren’t there. He took in the walls of t-shirts, the stands of dark clothes, and made a beeline for the shoes.

It was only once he had his arms laden with _stuff_ that he realised that Otabek was no longer in the store with him. He felt a pang of regret, but then he saw the fucking coolest cat t-shirt ever. He brought his things to the counter. “I will get more,” he said in a hurry, realising his English probably wasn’t as good as it should be.

But the girl at the counter nodded. “Okay. I’ll put this aside for you.”

“Thank you.”

And then he went to look at the pants.

Three trips to the register later, he told the girl, “I’m ready now.”

When he left the store, his arms were full. “I think I need to drop these off in the car.”

Otabek and Phichit looked at him. “Sure thing,” Phichit said.

Yuri dropped his bags off in the car, and then they went to get lunch at the food court. Phichit, of course, had to document his salad instead of, y’know, eating it right away, and Yuri grumbled about it. How was this Katsuki’s best friend? He was _annoying_.

But then Otabek told him about a store where you could make your own stuffed animals.

Now, Yuri was a cool, badass guy. But he fucking loved plush cats. So, naturally, he asked, “Holy fucking shit, do you think they have cats?”

Otabek shrugged.

Phichit, however, chose that moment to prove his usefulness. “If you’re talking about Build-A-Bear, they do.”

“We’re fucking going,” Yuri said.

He ate the rest of his salad as quickly as possible, and then waited impatiently for Beka and Phichit to finish. Then, he checked the directory, and led the way to the store. Phichit lasted maybe a minute before he grabbed a Pokémon plushie shell and abandoned Otabek and Yuri. If Yuri had known it’d be this easy to get rid of him, he’d have done this first.

Yuri examined the animals. He had to choose the best one, and while there were some cute cats… they also had snow leopards, and everyone knew how badass snow leopards are. After much deliberation, he decided on a [ snow leopard ](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Snow-Leopard/productId=prod11980012) . Otabek had gotten a [ soft white teddy bear ](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Lil-Marshmallow-Cub/productId=prod12060073). Typical.

They went to stuff their animals, and when the worker asked Yuri to spin around, make a wish, and kiss the plush heart to stuff in the leopard, Yuri felt himself turn red. Still, a wish was a wish, and he wished, in the privacy of his own mind and not out loud because he wasn’t fucking _stupid_ , that things worked out with Otabek. That Otabek _did_ actually love him, and that they got together, and stayed best friends, but also boyfriends, only not gross like Victor and Katsuki. Then he kissed the plush heart and shoved it as deep into the shell as he could.

Next, apparently, was registering and naming. Yuri sat down at one of the computers, scanned his leopard’s tags, and said to himself, “I’m naming the leopard Beka.”

Only Otabek was right next to him and had apparently heard him. Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_.

He didn’t look at Beka’s face, but he definitely heard his next words. “I’m naming my bear Yura. Because you’re my Russian bear.”

Oh holy fucking fuck. Why did Beka have to act like that? He thought Yuri was his Russian bear? He was going to fucking melt; that stupid boy was going to fucking kill him.

His face felt like it was on fire, and he didn’t respond. He couldn’t; what was he supposed to say? “You’re my Kazakhstani leopard”?? How fucking stupid would that be?

When he was done registering his leopard, he tugged on Beka’s jacket sleeve, strategically not meeting his eyes. “Let’s get them clothes. They can’t just go around naked. They have dignity.”

He didn’t know what to do, at first, but then he saw a teddy-bear sized [ leather jacket](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Harley-Davidson-Motorcycles-Black-Jacket/productId=prod10770037). Perfect. It gave him a plan. After all, the leopard was already named Beka.

He made sure to get his leopard some boxers and socks, and when he asked an employee how to dress the toy and pay for the clothes, he was told to just save the tags and bring them up, which worked for him. He found [ distressed jeans](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Distressed-Denim-Jeans/productId=prod11960049), so he pulled those on over the boxers. He tried to find a t-shirt that fit the essence of Otabek Altin. Beka normally wore plain t-shirts, but that would be boring for the leopard. But then, Yuri found it. A red, [ graphic teddy-bear t-shirt ](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Not-Easy-Being-Cool-T-Shirt-Outfit-2-pc./productId=prod11650013) that read “It’s not easy being cool, but I manage.” It was perfect. It came with pants, but Yuri just kept them in the pile and put the t-shirt on his leopard.

Perfect. He found [ combat boots,](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Black-Combat-Boots/productId=prod11070441) too, and was lacing those up when Beka came over.

“What’s that shirt say?” Beka asked.

Yuri felt himself blush again. “‘It’s not easy being cool, but I manage’,” he said. “Which is like, the most Beka thing ever. Even though you normally wear plain t-shirts.”

Beka smiled and it just about killed him. “I don’t think I’m cool.”

Of fucking course he didn’t. “Cool people never do.” He looked at Beka-the-leopard. He was good, amazing, even, but he still wasn’t quite The Essence of Otabek Altin. “He’s missing something. Watch him for a second.”

He started searching through the accessories, and then he found it. Teddy-bear sized [ sunglasses](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Black-Frame-Sunglasses/productId=prod11380026). He put them on Beka-Leopard. “Perfect. Now he fits his name.”

He looked over at Otabek, whose cheeks were pink. “What do you think of Yura’s outfit?”

Yuri looked at the bear. Otabek had dressed him in [ skinny jeans](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Denim-Jeans-for-Teddy-Bears/productId=prod11220020), a [ shirt with a cat wearing a pastel leopard print hat](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Leopard-Cat-T-Shirt/productId=prod11790043), [ high-top sneakers](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Black-Canvas-High-Tops/productId=prod11170010), and a [ leopard print jacket](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Leopard-Print-Jacket-with-Hood/productId=prod11720143). Well, if Beka was going for the same thing Yuri was going for, he had captured the essence of Yuri Plisetsky in one bear. There were also a pair of teddy-bear sized [ ice skates](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Black-Ice-Skates/productId=prod11570097) next to the bear.

“Man, I didn’t even see that shirt, but hold on, I’m getting Beka a pair of skates.” He ducked away again, to the shoes, and came back holding the skates. “Okay, let’s get out of here before it gets too late to get a full night’s sleep. We don’t want fucking Crispino beating us.”

They were, after all, still at a competition.

Otabek nodded in agreement. They found Phichit, who had three fucking Build-A-Bears: a [ Pikachu](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Web-Exclusive-Pikachu-Set/productId=prod11710006) in a [ baseball cap](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Blue-and-Black-Ball-Cap/productId=prod11720187) and two dogs: a [ yellow lab](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Promise-Pets-Stuffed-Yellow-Lab/productId=prod11780005) and a [ black lab](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Promise-Pets-Black-Labrador/productId=prod11410022) , in matching [ tuxedos](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Teddy-Bear-Black-Tuxedo-2-pc./productId=prod11070379). The black lab had [ black glasses](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Black-Frame-Glasses/productId=prod11380080), and the yellow lab had on a [ long white blonde wig](http://www.buildabear.com/shopping/store/Disney's-Frozen-Elsa-Wig/productId=prod11360048).

“I got presents for Yuuri and Victor for their anniversary. The Yuuri dog is for Victor, and the Victor dog is for Yuuri.”

“What the fuck, Chulanont,” Yuri said. But then, Victor and Katsuki would fucking love it. Of course they would. It was just a shame they didn’t make bear-sized engagement rings, with how much Victor and Katsuki showed theirs off.

Phichit shrugged as best he could. “We should probably check out and head back. Roads should be clearer, so maybe we can make it a little faster.”

They checked out, and Phichit rejected Otabek’s help in getting the bears to the car. Idiot. Yuri carried his leopard, happy with his purchase.

“I already got a picture of them,” Phichit said. “I sent it to Chris, but I’m not posting it until their anniversary.”

He’d better not post it until Yuri had already given the old men their stupid presents, because he didn’t want any more annoying texts or phone calls from them. But he did, just in case, send off a text.

**Messages with** Victor  & Katsuki  
  
**Yurio:** Chulanont got you anniversary presents.   


They didn’t text back, and Yuri tried not to think about what they could be doing, and hoped it was sleeping.

Everything fit in the car, and Yuri was extremely grateful for his extra bag, and said as much.

“Why would you bring an extra bag to _Lake Placid_?” Otabek asked.

“Hey, that store Hot Topic is amazing, and I knew I’d buy a lot of shit. I’m growing, if you haven’t noticed, so I had to throw out a lot of my favourite clothes, and Victor keeps trying to give me hand-me-downs.”

Victor’s hand-me-downs were all designer clothes, which was nice, Yuri supposed, only he didn’t feel like he deserved it. And, of course, Victor’s tastes were nowhere close to Yuri’s. He had some nice pyjamas now, though.

“All right kids, back in the car!” Phichit said as he shut the trunk.

“I’m playing my fucking music on the way back. No more of this pop, musical bullshit.”

Phichit somehow agreed to this, although he unplugged Yuri’s phone after half an hour. “I think that’s enough emo music.”

They were back in Lake Placid before ten, and Otabek graciously agreed to help Yuri carry his things to his room, since, really, Yuri had gotten _so much stuff_.

“Yurio,” Phichit said. Ugh, Yuri hated that stupid fucking nickname.

“What do you want?”

“...Would you mind bringing these,” – here he held out the boxes holding the two dogs – “to Victor and Yuuri? I mean, you live with them and all, so you’ll probably see them before I do.”

Yuri heaved a dramatic sigh. Of course he’d do it, and there was still plenty of room in his bags for the stuffed animals. But still, Chulanont needed to gain some foresight. “Fine. But I can’t carry them right now, so just… follow us.”

So they all ended up going to Yuri’s room, but Phichit left after dropping off the dogs. Otabek stayed to help Yuri pack up his extra bag, which was now full of three stuffed animals, and lots of clothes and accessories from Hot Topic.

“What’re the chances we can hang out at the GPF without someone tailing us?” he asked. Because he and Beka _would_ make the GPF. There was no doubt about that in his mind.

“Victor and Katsuki will be too caught up in each other. So… maybe not too bad?”

If only. Yuri hoped they lacked the foresight to ask Phichit or Chris or someone else to tail them. “I certainly fucking hope so,” he huffed. And then, for no real reason besides the fact that he really wanted to, he gave Otabek another hug. “We should get some sleep. Goodnight. Good luck.”

“Goodnight and good luck to you, too. Not like you need it.”

Yuri grinned, and Otabek took his Yura-bear and walked back to his room. Yuri, for his part, opened his bag and got out his Beka-leopard. He took off his boots and jacket and jeans, and cuddled up with him as he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

He got silver, which would’ve been fine if Otabek had been the one to get the gold. But no. Chulanont had gotten the gold, and Yuri’s best friend was stuck with bronze.

He’d seen Beka’s flubs, which he’d never seen happen before, not with Beka. He wondered what was wrong. He remembered the Sochi GPF, where Katsuki had bombed because his dog had just died. Fuck, he hoped nothing like that had happened to Otabek.

After the medal ceremony, in the locker room, he found Beka in his street clothes, on his phone, texting someone.

“Hey,” he called from behind him, trying to be as gentle as possible. With Otabek, that was a lot easier than with other people.

Otabek looked up from his phone. “Hey.”

“Let’s go walk around town. We don’t have anything to do tomorrow besides our exhibitions.”

“I really didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Otabek said. There was nothing in his voice to imply that there was any other problem.

Yuri scoffed. “I could tell. Then we’ll chill in your room, watch a movie, and get room service. I brought _Le Chat du rabbin_. Besides, we deserve a cheat day, right? And we both made the GPF, so we’ll kick everyone’s asses.”

“I’ll probably fall asleep,” Otabek said. Like Yuri cared about that.

“That’s no big deal,” Yuri assured him. He walked over to stand in front of him and held a hand out.

Otabek took it. “Thanks.”

“We’re best friends, asshole. That means _I’m_ the only one allowed to beat you. Not some annoying Thai upstart.” He helped Otabek up, and they walked back to the hotel together.

Yuri ran back to his room to change into his pyjamas, and to grab his laptop and the DVD. He tried to make it as quickly as possible, and ten minutes later, he was back in Otabek’s room. The two of them curled up on the bed to watch the movie. Yuri couldn’t help but notice that Yura-bear was sitting on the desk.

Otabek was obviously exhausted, so Yuri was the one to get up and get the room service that Beka had apparently ordered. They both eat their fill of delicious American food, promising to work it off later, and when they were done and the plates put away, Otabek rested his head on Yuri’s shoulder.

Holy fuck. Maybe this being taller thing would work out after all. Otabek wrapped an arm around him, and Yuri relaxed. Once he was sure that Beka was asleep (because of course he was; he was exhausted, and Yuri really didn’t know why), he tentatively ran a hand through Beka’s hair.

It was soft, although not as soft as he’d imagined, and there was still product in it from earlier. But still, he didn’t move his hand from Beka’s hair until the movie was over, and from there, Yuri just watched some movies on low volume on his computer.

After a while, he looked at the clock. It was almost midnight, and he didn’t want to leave, but there was press in the building, and as comfortable as he was curled up with Beka, he didn’t want nasty rumours circulating about them.

So he did what any good friend would do: he poked him. “Hey. Get up.”

This seemed to have the desired effect, because Beka rubbed at his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Midnight, but I should go back to my room. I didn’t want to just leave, but… the last thing either of us want is me getting caught by the press, or worse, Yuri’s Angels.”

Otabek nodded. “Okay. Yeah. Thanks. For… staying with me.”

“We’re _best friends_ ,” Yuri said. “Of course I stayed with you. Besides, you’re the only person here I _like_. Skate Canada was fucking _awful_. Even though I won.”

“Yuri Nikolayevich Plisetsky, are you really saying that getting silver in a competition we’re both in is better than getting gold when I’m in Almaty?”

Yuri’s felt the blood rush to his face. That was exactly what he was saying, but he wasn’t doing to admit to it. No way. “That’s not what I said, you asshole.” He huffed and picked up his computer. “I’m leaving. Goodnight. You better fucking wow me at your exhibition, Altin.”

“Right back at you, Plisetsky.”

Yuri went back to his room, making sure Beka’s door was latched behind him. He put his computer away, and crawled into his bed with his new leopard. Somehow, without Beka there, the bed felt _huge_ , and cold, too. But that was stupid. He and Beka hadn’t been sleeping together, even in the most literal sense of the word. Beka had just been exhausted and had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

And anyway, Yuri wasn’t going to do anything to risk the best friendship he’d ever had. If Beka wanted to make a move, he could make a move. Yuri would welcome it with open arms. But he wasn’t about to be a dumbass about it.

He managed to fall asleep eventually, and he grumbled when his alarm woke him up the next morning.

* * *

In the locker room, after Yuri and Otabek were in costumes for their exhibition skates, Phichit cornered them. “You know, I think that Build-A-Bear thing was really right.”

“What’re you talking about, Chulanont?” Yuri growled. What Build-A-Bear thing?

“Well,” Phichit said. “I wished for gold, and I got it. I’m sure neither of you thought to wish for gold, did you?”

Yuri and Otabek looked at each other and shook their heads. Fuck, what had Otabek wished for, then?

Phichit grinned. “Whatever, I’m sure whatever you two wished for will come true. But I need a pre-exhibition selfie, since we’re all together and in costume!” He held out his phone and pulled a selfie stick from his bag. “Say cheese!”

Yuri was scowling and Otabek had on his default expression (which Yuri supposed was a type of resting bitch face, but he secretly loved it), but Phichit was beaming from the centre of the photo. “Instagram, Facebook, VKontakte, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, and… why not Google Plus, too?” He tapped at his phone as he went to walk away. “Have fun out there, guys!”

If Phichit was right… well, if this was Yuri’s best exhibition of the season so far, no one could blame him, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Link to Beka's program [return to text]  
> 2 Andrei Bely's novel _Petersburg_ is widely regarded as one of the best works of at least the first half of the 20th century, but it's a symbolist work and can take some time to get through, and I don't think symbolism is remotely Yuri's Thing, y'know?  [return to text]  
> 3 Generally, you need to be 25, but some companies will let you rent at 21. [return to text]  
> 


	2. They know, I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri gets back to St. Petersburg

Yuri was jet-lagged and miserable when he arrived back in St. Petersburg, but he wasn’t particularly surprised to see Victor and Katsuki waiting for him at international arrivals.

“We’ll take him from here, Yakov, Lilia. You two get some rest,” Victor said, whisking Yuri off while Katsuki helped him with his bags. Victor had that stupid fucking pink monstrosity of a car outside, although at least Victor had the hood up.

Yuri and Katsuki put the bags in the trunk, and Yuri hopped into the backseat with his backpack. “I just wanna go home and sleep. None of this weird celebration bullshit.”

“Well, you _did_ only get silver,” Victor said.

“Vitya,” Katsuki chided.

“What? We only pull out all the stops for gold. Of course, Yurio, you’ll get to pick dinner for the rest of the week, as long as it’s not too heavy. We have a month until the Grand Prix Finals, but both of you remember that you need to keep your weight steady.”

“Never been a problem for me,” Yuri said.

Victor drove them home without much further discussion, and Yuri really was exhausted. He dragged his bags to his room.

“Yurio, what’s that sticking out your backpack?”

Shit, he’d forgotten that he’d had his Beka leopard in full view. “We went to a mall. But I’m sure you already knew that because Chulanont told you.”

“He did,” Katsuki agreed. “Did you have fun?”

Yuri eyed him suspiciously, but then nodded. “I got a lot of clothes, and this leopard.”

“What’s his name, Yurio?” Victor asked.

It was a seemingly innocuous question, but Chulanont had known what Otabek and Yuri had named their animals; you had to, as it turned out, say the name of the animal to get the little cheesy birth certificate at checkout. Yuri almost hadn’t done it. Almost.

He cleared his throat. “Beka.”

There it was. Victor squealed. “Oh, and he even has a little leather jacket! That’s so cute! You got a little version of your boyfriend to hug when he’s not around.”

“He’s _not_ my boyfriend!” Yuri protested.

“Don’t be so embarrassed!” Victor insisted. “Yuuri and I have, you know, those giant Japanese pillows? Body pillows? Of each other for when we’re away at  different competitions.”

“ _Vitya!_ ” Katsuki yelled.

Yuri wanted to vomit.

“Well, we can’t _always_ be together, unfortunate though it is. Sometimes our competitions conflict, and it’s so hard, but the body pillows help.”

“ _I’m going to my room now_ ,” Yuri half-shouted, running into his room as quickly as possible.

Pyotya was on his bed. His angel. “Pyotya, how did I end up living with these fucking assholes?”

His cat purred and rubbed up against his hand.

* * *

The next day, once he’d slept long enough, he trudged out to the living room to hand Victor and Katsuki their presents. “From Chulanont. Don’t think this is from me, because I would never get you something so fucking stupid.”

“Oh, we should Skype call him, or FaceTime,” Katsuki said. He went to the room he shared with Victor and brought out his laptop. Yuri stood there with the fucking bear boxes in his hands. Only Pyotya truly understood his struggle.

Katsuki apparently got some kind of video call working for Chulanont. They made small talk for a few minutes before Katsuki actually got up the nerve to say that they were opening the presents.

“I labelled them,” said Phichit, and Yuri looked at the boxes and realised… holy shit, somehow he had. Victor’s had his name written in cyrillic, and Katsuki’s had his first name written in Japanese. When had Phichit had time to do that?

Yuri handed the gross old men their respective boxes.

“Oh, are they from the same store as Yurio’s Otabek leopard?”

Yuri wanted to die. Phichit nodded. “And Otabek got a bear that he dressed up like Yurio. It was really cute.”

“I’d have gone for a cat, personally,” Katsuki said.

“…He said something stupid,” Yuri muttered.

“What did he say?” Katsuki asked.

“Yurioooo,” Victor whined. “What did Otabek  _say_?”

They continued badgering him for a whole minute, and Phichit even joined in, so Yuri, knowing that none of them would ever let this go, had no choice but to yell, “ _He said I was his Russian bear, okay?_ ”

Victor and Yuuri were silent for two blessed seconds, and then Victor started  _beaming_ , and he squealed, “Yuriooo! He  _looooves_ you!”

Yuri felt like his face was on fire. “Ugh, shut up and open your presents,” he said.

The old men fussed for a few more minutes, but eventually did open them.

Victor actually started crying when he pulled the black lab with glasses and a tuxedo out of the box. “He’s Yuuri!”

Katsuki pulled his own dog out of the box. “Aw, it’s Vitya!” He touched the wig. “Is this… Elsa from Frozen?”

“It was the only white blonde wig they had, and I thought that was the best Victor accessory,” Phichit said.

“I’m going to my room now,” Yuri announced, grabbing a croissant from the plate on the counter. “Before this shit gets gross.”

Victor and Katsuki didn’t even notice him.

He texted Beka when he got back to his room.

**Messages with** Beka  
  
**Yura:** the old men are so gross  
  
**Yura:** victor started crying when he saw the fucking dog chulanont got him  
  
**Beka:** I think it’s sweet. Crying is maybe a little extreme, but it’s sweet.  
  
**Yura:** they teased me about my leopard.   
  
**Beka:** My sister teased me about my bear.  
  
**Beka:** It really says a lot that she knew he was named Yura from just the clothes.  
  
**Yura:** bc you picked the most awesome clothes in the store. everyone knows i have the best fucking taste out there.   
  
**Beka:** You keep telling yourself that   
  


Oh, god, what the hell was Yuri supposed to do now?


End file.
